INTRODUCTION The RCMI program of Ponce School of Medicine (PSM) is in its 18th year of funding. Currently, the program is funded for a period of 3 years to encourage accelerated implementation of some of the programs that were deemed promising. In order to further improve the research infrastructure of the institution and productivity of its faculty, this renewal proposal has been developed to further strengthen areas that were judged strong, and to improve areas that were considered weak. The responses to the previous critiques by the site visit team/review committee and the remedies to correct the deficiencies are described under each Core Program. No additional funding is being requested for the pilot projects currently funded, except for a 3-year continuation support for Dr. J. Matta's pilot project. Certain significant changes were made in response to the critiques of the currently funded proposal, to clarify institutional faculty salary and promotion policies. Revised faculty salary policies are attached as APPENDIX I and new faculty promotion guidelines are attached as APPENDIX II. The External Advisory Committee (EAC) has been further restructurted to include increased representation of clinical research investigators. The new EAC includes 3 Ph.Ds, 3 M.Ds and one M.D./Ph.D.